The imposition of '24 hour waking fire watches' at a large tower block and delays in paying suppliers are fuelling concerns behind the scenes at a major housing provider.
Torus Housing has been beset by issues relating to payments, repairs and fire safety in recent months - as well as eye-watering costs to rebuild a small row of shops destroyed by fire.
The ECHO understands a consultancy had identified risks involving one if its properties at Kingsway House in Warrington, a large apartment block in the Latchford area due to undergo a £5m refurbishment.
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However 'waking watches' have also been implemented at Baden House in Old Swan and Marwood Towers in Everton.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed Torus has contacted its officers on February 4 to make the service aware about potential problems with compartmentation - a safety feature of buildings aimed at preventing fires from spreading to different areas.
The company said its tower blocks are all "fully compliant" and that it implemented waking watches as a "further precautionary step".
However a whistleblower at Torus told the ECHO there were serious worries internally about the building, and that disciplinary proceedings were underway involving senior staff in relation to Kingsway House.
A spokesman for Torus told the ECHO: "We can assure tenants that all our tower blocks are fully compliant and significantly exceed the legally required Type One Fire Risk Assessment.
“As we are carrying out extensive works to Kingsway House that include enhanced safety works, we are meeting Type Four standards instead which is the highest level possible.
“As part of our £5 million investment refurbishing Kingsway House we have worked in partnership with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and a specialist fire safety consultancy to include a range of significantly enhanced features.
“This includes a full sprinkler system, apartment front doors replaced with fire doors, an upgraded fire alarm, compartmentation works, extra detectors and though not required by law, installed a Fire and Rescue Service evacuation alert system.
“A further precautionary step sees us introducing a 24-hour Waking Watch Service to cover the time required to gain approval and plan for the more intrusive Type 4 surveys, which is again above and beyond what is legally required but part of our comprehensive approach to tenant safety.
“It is inappropriate to comment on matters relating to individual staff members."
Elsewhere within Torus, its staff have faced difficulties with suppliers putting its account "on stop" due to delayed payments.
The ECHO understand tenants have been left in situations where kitchens have been ripped out only for the fitters to refuse to provide a replacement because they had not been paid.
Another supplier refused to replace doors in properties in Liverpool after not being paid.
When the ECHO asked about the payment problems, Torus said "technical issues" with a new IT system was to blame, but said it was working to "resolve them quickly."
A spokesman said: "Unfortunately it meant we had to pause work for a small number of tenants and apologise for the inconvenience and disruption this caused.
"We made sure homes were secure and had essential cooking facilities and water supplies until the problem was solved and all installations are now back on schedule.
“When we became aware of the IT issue, finance staff worked evenings and weekends, more people were employed and staff from accounts payable worked with other departments to help rectify the matter."
These problems come alongside a large backlog in repairs and planned works caused by the covid pandemic.
The ECHO understands Torus implemented a scheme called 'Putting it Right' to catch-up on the backlog, although an insider says there have been concerns over some repairs which had not been on the radar of repair teams.
In November the ECHO reported on the plight of Rashid Yousef and his family, who had spent a number of years trying to alert Torus to the dire state of his mould, damp and rat infested property.
Torus quickly moved to rehome the family after the case was raised by the ECHO, and said it "accepted the property had fallen below expected standards".
When Torus asked about Putting it Right, Torus said there was a log of all works and it was prioritising surveys and repairs, but also said the new IT system had caused delays.
A spokesman said: "As we carry out over 130,000 responsive repairs a year, the number of outstanding surveys equates to half a week’s worth of work and is part of our ongoing improvement programme that sees us investing £35 million a year on responsive repairs in addition to £50 million in 2022/23 improving tenants’ homes.
“Providing comfortable, safe, well-maintained homes for tenants and their families is our top priority and we encourage them to contact us directly when work is needed to make sure the high standards we set are being met."
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